COMMENT Has it ever been in doubt that Malaysians aren’t Egyptians? Put it another way: Can Malaysians become like the victorious Egyptians where and when it really counts?

 

PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim now says Malaysian’s won’t be like Egyptians in overpowering a vile, corrupt, racist and incompetent Umno-BN regime that has dominated central power since 1957.

 

But still he insists that the opposition coalition’s march to Putrajaya and taking over power is on the cards. And it’ll be done through the ballot - the democratic way; not in the way the Egyptians or Tunisians have.

 

anwar ibrahim in launch of buku jingga So what is Anwar really saying: that the Egyptians and Tunisians acted to overthrow their regimes in ways that can be described as anti-democratic?

 

Yet it suited Anwar’s cause when he latched onto the Tunisian and Egyptian people’s revolutions that ousted anti-democratic, corrupt and murderous Muslim leaders, and he unequivocally suggested the approximation of those events to what could be achieved in Malaysia.

 

At the very least Anwar likened the political situation in Malaysia to Egypt’s whilst the state-controlled media lackeys rolled out en masse their diatribe that Malaysia is not Egypt. Who won that political propaganda war?

 

You can read what you like into Anwar’s backflip. Malaysia’s political situation has long called for regime change. It is long overdue.

 

Although the DAP came close to snatching power in 1969, and Pakatan Rakyat came close to creating a political “tsunami” in the 2008 federal elections, the opposition coalition has failed to maintain the political pressure and momentum on the Umno-BN regime to make any real inroads to capturing Putrajaya.

 

It won’t happen any time soon, either.

‘PKR has lost its way’

 

If one goes by recent by-elections - no matter how uneven such contests have been historically, given the largeness of the Umno-BN political party machinery, the largesse it gives voters as nothing more than bribes, and the use of state institutions to wheedle, threaten and co-opt dissenters and voters alike - there is no question that PKR has lost its way.

 

But for Anwar to continue harping on the old theme of marching to and taking over Putrajaya amounts to a dumb and tired strategy. Everybody recalls as clear as day Anwar’s promise of taking over federal power on Sept 16, 2008.

 

It left Anwar with egg on his face. Anwar should back off making ridiculous promises he can’t keep by shooting his mouth off.

 

Because all that will happen, if he continues, is that he’ll shoot himself in the backside - again.

And Anwar did it again.

egypt the day after mubarak overthrow celebration 1 Recall his speech on March 13, 2011, and I quote Regina Lee’s report: “We don’t want to do things like Egypt or Tunisia. If we want democracy, we will do it through the ballot boxes and through the general elections. And we are here for the win.”

 

And this one plays to voters’ heartstrings: “Malaysia is a great country. It’s a beautiful country and I love this country very much. Malaysia does not deserve to be led by leaders who are corrupt and greedy.”

 

As a long time observer and critic of Malaysian political economy, Anwar’s speeches no longer cut the ice with me. Every day I grow more and more unconvinced that he has what it will take to lead PKR to victory.

 

The last part of his speech is meant to do exactly what it’s meant to do, and Malaysian voters, especially the more discerning ones - much more than the uneducated ones - have steeled themselves against more of Anwar’s semantics.

 

The rest of Anwar’s lines in that speech are as predictable as they are pitiable. I suspect Anwar is now clearly out of his depth.

 

Which leads me to ask what his minders are telling him in private. Fight on, regardless?

 

By all means, do so. But, how? Is it enough to merely repeat for popular consumption that Malaysia’s incumbent leaders are corrupt and greedy and therefore unfit to lead the country?

‘International capital could not care less’

 

The whole world knows how corrupt and racist the Umno-BN regime is, but international capital could not care less if it is or isn’t as long as it can make supernormal profits in Malaysia - by hook or crook.

 

Most big businesses in Malaysia are run by the regime’s cronies and, protected by the regime’s leaders who -- and it will come as no surprise whatsoever - if these “leaders” are taking cuts from their cronies for according them state protection.

Whether it is RM8 billion or RM3.7 billion that has taken illegal flight from Malaysia, it only shows the extent to which the Umno-BN in incompetent, as corrupt as those who sent their funds illegally out of the country, and that all good governance measures that the regime has been boasting amount to bollocks. Yet none of this will stop international capital from coming into and leaving Malaysia any time it wants.

 

If that’s not serious enough, then I suspect that, devoid of real election strategies and devoid of real, accountable, transparent and executable policies, throwing mud at Umno-BN and hoping that some if not all of it will stick just won’t do. The by-elections results have amply proved this.

 

Another bad mistake is when Anwar used the Tunisian and Egyptian examples for his political convenience, and then backed away in the next breath: it says a lot about Anwar’s political character and strategy.

 

It has long been clear that the regime’s thugs in the police force will bear down on mass protests like a runaway bulldozer and crush them without mercy. The Human Rights Party learnt this the hard way, and I am certain this became the impetus for Anwar now backing off tagging Malaysia to Egyptian-like popular revolts for grabbing state power.

 

It’s probably a smart move on Anwar’s part. But if Anwar says the best way to win power is to win the popular ballot at federal elections, he had better come to terms - and quickly - that he hasn’t a clearly defined election strategy to win government any more than he has election-winning, clearly enunciated policies.

Anwar needs to be honest with himself first.

 

I can imagine PKR loyalists counter-arguing that I’m being unfair again, that the coalition is still new, still in its infancy.

 

Problems of genuine credibility

If it is, then Anwar must stop making stupid promises that taking Putrajaya is nigh. At best it’s misleading. At worst it is a bald-face lie. It only compounds PKR’s problems of genuine credibility. And its problems seem to be growing every day, with Anwar’s second sodomy trial and defections from the coalition.

 

Moreover, its authorship to the Common Policy Framework and 100-Day Plan (the so-called Buku Jingga or Orange Book) is, I suspect, another humdinger filled with bollocks. If this is PKR’s manifesto, fine. But with PKR being so far behind and falling behind even more, it simply isn’t enough.

 

If the Buku Jingga is all that PKR hinges on for its federal election victory, then I am even more dismayed. A manifesto is one thing. Real policies are an entirely different political mater altogether. If the Buku Jingga runs a mere 23 pages, then nobody in their right minds would consider PKR as a serious political alternative for national government.

 

And, worse, to even suggest that social, economic and political reforms can be instituted within 100 days of coming to power is ludicrous and laughable.

After 53 years of political, economic and social bastardisation by Umno-BN, how can PKR hope to undo all that and implement its 100-day programme to turn around a country that is renowned for its institutionalised racism, corruption and greed?

 

The devil’s always in the details. PKR must produce detail upon detail that have been meticulously researched and discussed, not just at the level of the party executive, but more so at the grassroots level where all must be clearly and honestly explained to every single voter and community.

 

This hasn’t happened. Sadly, it is unlikely to happen.

 

In December 2009 Anwar said: “The difference between us and Umno is that they see things from a racial lens, while we see things from the viewpoint of justice and fairness.” If this is true, it is terribly important that Anwar explains to every voter and community exactly how he will implement real reforms from the purview of justice and fairness that will produce real results accordingly, and results that are measurable.

 

NONE PKR’s Buku Jingga and the 100-Day Plan will come to bugger all unless Anwar is also prepared to (a) have the majority of seats in parliament and almost all states behind him to change the disgustingly racist and inequitable constitution and (b) overhaul almost all of the state’s institutions, including the predominantly Malay authoritarian bureaucracy, the armed forces, the police, the judiciary, and the Economic Planning Unit, and abolish draconian media laws.

 

Even the charter of the cabinet, or each cabinet portfolio, must be overhauled if Anwar wants to implement truly democratic reforms and achieve the goals of justice and fairness for all Malaysians. And it must investigate every previous and current Umno-BN minister and bureaucratic head and their immediate underlings for corruption whilst his own people must declare their wealth assets and business interests.

 

Empty rhetoric, however, is as transparent as an undisguised elephant’s rump. And so far empty rhetoric is all I have heard and read from Anwar and PKR.

MANJIT BHATIA is an Australian academic, writer and journalist. He is also research director of AsiaRisk, a risk analysis consultancy. He now divides his life and work between Australia, Britain and the US.